26 YEARS 6 MONTHS
Jeff poked at his nose with a slight wince. The benefit of getting a month older every day was that his broken nose had mostly healed, and the swelling had gone down. All that remained to show what had happened was a slight redness to his skin, and his once straight bridge was now noticeably crooked. He looked at himself in the mirror in the morning to view the damage. He had thought of using the Chronivac to restraighten it but, seeing his reflection, he liked the way it looked. It gave a little more ruggedness to his already masculine appearance. Besides, it was a solid reminder of the fragile relationship with his brother.
Things were still tense with Jeff and Adam. They barely spoke to each other after the incident, and Jeff had stayed in his room all night to avoid showing his parents his bruised and broken face. Jeff sat in his room at his laptop open, scrolling through an article on gold rush era history, before typing up an essay in another tab. With all that had happened recently, he had forgotten that there was homework to do. He may look like a large, solid, twenty-something man. But to everyone who knew him, he was still a teenager who had a standard to uphold in his classes. Well, almost everyone...
There was a tap at his door, and Adam entered with a small wave, and a suspicious grin. He slunk over to the desk, and leaned up against the wall. He pointed to his brother's face and quipped, "Hey, I see the nose is looking better already." Jeff grunted in response, too busy with his schoolwork. "Right... So now that we've made up, can I use your Chronivac for a minute?"
"Huh?" Jeff turned to Adam and frowned. "I'm kind of busy at the moment. Can't it wait?"
"I'm sorry, I just remember you saying I could use it whenever I wanted. You know. After you action figured me and all. You wouldn't go back on your word, would you?"
Jeff fell back against his chair and let out a long groan. He could tell he was going to be hearing that a lot over the next few days. "Fine!" He growled as he saved his work and pushed himself away from his laptop. "I could probably do some research the old-fashioned way..."
Adam shoved Jeff aside and booted up the Chronivac. By the time Jeff had gotten comfortable on his bed with his history textbook, Adam was already deep in the Chronivac's settings, and learning how to use it. Jeff began reading his book, but it wasn't long until Adam caught his attention once more. He had spun his chair around, and Jeff watched as his brother began to slim down. His hard-earned muscles deflating. His thick stubble started to recede back into his cheeks as it grew increasingly patchy. He got a little shorter in his seat, and his chest hair all but vanished. His square jaw rounded out slightly, and his short cropped hair lengthened until it was a shaggy mess. He spun in his chair once more with a cackle. "Check it out," he said, a little too smug. "I'm 18 years old again!" He flexed a slim arm, which didn't have much muscle mass at all. "Man, I forgot how puny I was at this age."
"Yeah, you're a bit of a wimp. No wonder you installed that gym in the basement."
"Take a good look Jeff, this is what an actual teenager looks like. I'm even two years older than you supposedly are."
"Well, not everyone gets to grow up to be a hypermasculine super stud like me." Jeff flexed his own arms with a grin, each boulder-like bicep more than thrice the size of Adam's, who merely responded with a poked-out tongue. "Besides, eighteen is barely an adult. You're not even allowed to drink until you're 21."
Adam stroked his soft chin, now devoid of any stubble. "You're right, that's no fun." He tuned back to the Chronivac and tapped in a few changes. As he spun back around in his chair, he was already beginning to change once more. He immediately got buffer, even outgrowing how big he was previously. His tank top strained against his intense bulk, moulding itself to better display his round pecs and solid abs. His stubble grew back and then some, leaving him with a dark, permanent stain across the entirety of his lower face. His body hair increased tenfold, thick curls spilling out from the collar of his tank top, and out around the arm holes. Finally, a few telltale pricks of gray dotted his temples and stained his chin. He stroked his huge arms in awe, then grinned at Jeff. "I see why you like this thing. Damn, I look good!"
Jeff compared himself to Adam. He was still far bigger, but the difference in size wasn't as significant as it once was. He pointed to Adam's hair. "Looks like you're going a bit gray there," he said, absentmindedly stroking the stubborn cluster of grays in his own beard.
Adam grinned. "Yeah, I suppose you expect that when you're thirty. Yep, this is ten years of solid growth and working out!"
"Even when you're the older brother, you're still the smallest." Jeff laughed and slapped his brother's back. "I suppose you'll catch up to me someday."
"Maybe..." Adam uttered as he returned to the Chronivac and tapped in some things. His gray hairs vanished, as did a significant amount of his body hair, but he kept his impressive size. And maybe it was Jeff's imagination, but he also appeared to get taller. He grew inch by inch until he was a few inches taller than Jeff himself. Then there was something wrong with Adam's face. Did he make himself more handsome? He was already a good-looking man, but now he had the chiseled cheekbones and lantern jaw of a classic Greek statue. He still looked recognizable, but far more adonis-like.
"Alright, alright, I think that's enough experimenting for one day. I have an essay to write." Jeff grumbled, attempting to guide Adam out of his bedroom. But as they stepped out into the hallway, Jeff paused. He stood in his doorway and frowned. For the past couple of months, he'd had to duck to get through doorways without hitting his head. But now he was standing upright, and his hair barely grazed the top. "Hey, did you do something to me?"
Adam stood in front of his brother, a sly smile on his face as he looked down on his brother, and said, "Of course not."
"You didn't make me shorter?"
"Now why would I do a thing like that? Maybe you're just confused because I made myself taller."
"No, I specifically remember whacking my head on the door frame several times, and now look!" He waved a hand over his head, showing off the fraction of a gap between scalp and doorframe.
"Maybe it was your shoes giving you a little lift?"
"Maybe..." Jeff said, entirely unconvinced.
"Well, I suppose you'll catch up to me one day," Adam said with the widest grin he could muster. "See ya, squirt!"
Jeff scrunched his face up, a scowl scarring his lips. It wasn't like he needed to be doorframe tall. He hated having to duck every time he entered a room. But Adam attempting to gaslight him, even in a jokey fashion, didn't bode well. He was definitely up to something... Still, he couldn't dwell on it. He was determined to get this essay written before the end of the year.
26 YEARS 7 MONTHS
With school starting up for Jeff in under a week's time, things were getting a little tense in the house. So he decided to go on a little walk to clear his mind. A lot of things were getting to him. Namely, his grown-up body. It was fun to be more mature than his peers for a while, but now it was getting tired and lonely. He wanted to be seen for the adult he had become. Maybe it was time to set things straight, and embrace the man he really was. No more school, he could get a job, maybe go travelling. Sure, he'd miss his friends, but it wasn't like they were hanging out the way things were now. And he could make new friends. Better friends who wouldn't just abandon him...
A cold breeze passed through Jeff, giving him the shivers, and losing his train of thought. It felt like he'd forgotten something, but he couldn't put a finger on what. It felt important, as if there was a gap in his thoughts. He racked his brain trying to recall what it could be, but the more he thought, the more absent it became. With a long sigh, he decided it would be worth heading home to see if it would jolt a memory.
Jeff noticed the car wasn't on the drive when he got home, which meant he would likely be the only person in the house. It was lucky that he'd remembered his house keys. Jeff burst through the door and called out, "Hello? Anyone here?" He paused for a moment. The house was silent, maybe both his parents had gone out. Then he heard it, a peculiar shuffling followed by several light thuds coming from upstairs. "Dad...?" Jeff asked cautiously. It didn't sound like his dad, who was significantly more heavy footed. Jeff stood at the foot of the stairs as the curious sound came closer.
All of a sudden, a large ball of fluff came pounding down the stairs and barreled straight into Jeff, who fell to the ground from the impact. Jeff held his hands out defensively as the furry fiend bounced on his chest and shoved its snout into his face before dolling out several drooly licks. "Ugh, gross, get off!" Jeff moaned with a laugh, shoving the creature aside and pulling himself to his feet. He looked down to see the furball was, in fact, some sort of dog. He didn't know much about dogs, but this one looked rather rambunctious, solidly built with a thick, white and gray coat, and the fluffiest tail imaginable, wagging uncontrollably. The pooch gazed up at him with a cocked head. "You're a wild pup, aren't you?" Jeff said, as he knelt down to give it a pat on the head, then checked for a collar. "How did a big boy like you get in the house, huh?" As he knelt down, he noticed one of its back legs was missing, an odd metal rod in its place. Something about it felt familiar, but when he thought about it, his mind went a little fuzzy.
There was no collar around his neck, and Jeff was scratching his head at what to do. Should he call a shelter? It wasn't like his parents would let him keep a dog, no matter how hard he'd begged for one in the past. Before he could reach for his phone, the dog suddenly ran back up the stairs. Jeff followed, hoping for an explanation, when he saw it was trying to get into his bedroom. A chill went up Jeff's spine. Maybe there was more to the situation than he expected.
Jeff entered his room and, sure enough, the Chronivac was open and running. He ran to the machine and checked the screen. A transformation had taken place, one he didn't even know had happened. He looked back at the dog, who sat attentively by his side. "So you're not some stray mutt after all." Jeff muttered as he checked the details. "You used to be some guy called Adam... Huh, same last name. That's weird..." That odd brain haze swept over him again as he dug deeper into the backlogs. "You turned yourself into an Alaskan Malamute dog for eight hours... And enacted a reality change? Hold on..." Same last name, memory loss, brain fog. Jeff felt his pace quicken as he clicked on Adam's profile, only to recoil in shock. "Holy shit, you were my brother!?"
Jeff sat there stunned, his whole worldview shattering in a single moment. How could he not know that this happened? Duh, the reality change. But surely he'd be immune as the owner? What other changes in reality could have occurred without him knowing... As if sensing the discomfort, Adam the dog nudged his way through Jeff's legs, pressing all his weight onto his torso, and jolting him out of his stupor. Jeff gazed at ths dog's face. "Sorry," he uttered, his voice hoarse. "I've just discovered my whole life as an only child is a lie, because apparently my fucking brother turned himself into a dog!" Adam growled and barked at Jeff, who put his hands up defensively. "Woah! I'm not judging you. Give me a break, I have a secret brother... Who's now a dog..." Jeff gave the mutt a scratch on the head, which managed to soothe the beast, who lowered himself onto his lap in content. Just what was he going to do with a dog for a brother?